Shiinoidae is a family of parasitic

copepod Copepods (; meaning "oar-feet") are a group of small crustaceans found in nearly every freshwater and saltwater habitat (ecology), habitat. Some species are planktonic (inhabiting sea waters), some are benthos, benthic (living on the ocean floor) ...

s found on marine teleosts.

Description

The family Shiinoidae consists of nine species of morphologically unusual copepods that parasitize marine teleosts. The body of shiinoids exhibits many cases of reduced segmentation and segmental fusions, including the complete loss of several appendages. Most strikingly, females in this family possess a pair of large antennae that are anteriorly directed and oppose a rostrum, which is formed from an outgrowth of cuticle between the antennules and can reach 30% of their body length. Together the antennae and the rostrum form a clasp that shiinoids use to attach to their teleost hosts, usually to gill-like tissue in the nostrils or, rarely, to the skin of their hosts.

Genera and species

The first species in the family to be described was ''Shiinoa occlusa'', a single immature female of which was discovered on the fish '' Scomberomorus commerson'', and described by Kabata in 1968. A second species, ''S. inauris'', was found on '' Scomberomorus regalis'' and described by Roger Cressey in 1975, who also erected the family to hold the genus ''Shiinoa'' alone. A second genus was added in 1986, containing the single species ''Parashiinoa mackayi'', which had been found on the fishes ''

Pomadasys maculatus ''Pomadasys maculatus'', commonly known as the saddle grunt, blotched grunt or blotched javelin, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grunt belonging to the family Haemulidae. It is native to the Indo-West Pacific region. Description ''Pom ...

'' and '' P. argenteus''. Nine species are now recognized in the two genera: ;'' Shiinoa'' Kabata, 1968 *'' Shiinoa elagata'' Cressey, 1976 *'' Shiinoa inauris'' Cressey, 1975 *'' Shiinoa japonica'' Izawa, 2009 *'' Shiinoa occlusa'' Kabata, 1968 *'' Shiinoa prionura'' Izawa, 2009 ;'' Parashiinoa'' West, 1986 *'' Parashiinoa bakeri'' (Cressey & Cressey, 1986) *'' Parashiinoa cookeola'' Izawa, 2009 *'' Parashiinoa mackayi'' West, 1986 *'' Parashiinoa rostrata'' (Balaraman, Prabha & Pillai, 1984)

References

Poecilostomatoida Copepod families {{copepod-stub